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Shotengai arcades have been dead or dying since the 1990s if not earlier, and it's not gentrification that's killing them, it's lack of demand. For daily needs,

Shotengai arcades have been dead or dying since the 1990s if not earlier, and it's not gentrification that's killing them, it's lack of demand. For daily needs, in Japan as everywhere else in the world, one-stop shopping spots like supermarkets and convenience stores win out over visiting lots of specialty retailers that can't compete on price.

socalgal2 1y ago
I think you're right. Like the giant one in Musashi-Koyama is thriving at the start but dead at the end. The one in Musashi-Shinjou is really dead. So is the Kyoto Sanjo Shotengai. There's no "gentrification". There's just no customers. That said, I really wish some breakout architect would find a way to design a new building with space for more small shops that became a hit design. And then in my dream other architects would start copying. They built Shibuya Cast. There used to be 8-12 indie stores there. Now there's 3 chain stores. I think Sakara Stage might have done a better job there. I'm not sure but I think if I count the stores/restaurants it displaced there might be more now then before. Though I expect rent is way too high. Some places, like Toranomon Hills have the indoor restaurant yokochou type areas though I'm sure they are too expensive. Shibuya Sakura Stage also has one. Neither get that feeling like say, Akabane's bar area though. Or Nakano or Koenji. I hope Nakano is not going to lose theirs with all the construction. Shibuya though is going to lose a bunch more. A 30+ story building is under construction on Dogenzaka next to Mark City. Another is 30+ story is going on Miyamasa-Zaka between Meiji-Dori and Aoyama Dori where the post office is. There's a bunch super indie of restaurants there because the rent is cheap given the buildings are old. But maybe it will be designed like Sakura Stage to support more. I can cross my fingers. There's a 30+ story building going in where the Tokyu Honten was but given that was just a department store the new building will have more shops than the department store had, depending on how you count. There's yet another 30+ story building going in behind Hikarie. I'm not sure there's anything there it's displacing though. I mean, it is displacing stuff but nothing I've ever gone to, unlike some of the others.
- rtpg 1y ago
  Kyoto Sanjo got "killed" by COVID. Lived in the area for a bit, and when I visited in 2024 there were so many things just gone
  - greydius 1y ago
    I was there a few days ago. Doesn't seem dead to me, but I don't know what it was like pre-covid.
- timr 1y ago
  I used to live near Kyoto Sanjo pre-2020, and was just there a month or so ago. I wouldn’t characterize it as “dead” at all - on the contrary, I was shocked how many new restaurants, stores and cafes were there now. Maybe the Showa vibes are dying, but my impression is that it really is gentrifying.
tkgally 1y ago
Other factors behind the decline of shotengai are the relaxing of restrictions on the size, location, and operating hours of larger retailers, partly as a result of international pressure [1, in Japanese]; fewer young people wanting to take over family businesses; more women with full-time jobs and less time to shop; and, as elsewhere, competition from online shopping. But individual-run retail businesses are still common in Japan. While it isn’t easy to make a living at it, many people still aspire to run their own shops or restaurants and distinctive new ones appear all the time. Just yesterday, I noticed a small, trendy-looking restaurant [2] that has opened a few blocks from where I live in Yokohama. It’s not the kind of food I particularly like and the location on a quiet residential street seems risky, but I was glad to see them there and hope they succeed. [1] https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E8%A6%8F%E6%A8%A1%E5%B0%8F%E5%A3%B2%E5%BA%97%E8%88%97%E7%AB%8B%E5%9C%B0%E6%B3%95 https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E8%A6%8F%E6%A8%A1%E5... [2] https://haseshige.jp/ https://haseshige.jp/
fennecbutt 1y ago
Yup like pubs in the UK. Times change, it's nice to keep a few examples of such things but why go out of our way to save them all; it's only preventing the next generation from having their thing. Which tbh given the current generation in power, makes sense.
- gdbsjjdn 1y ago
  The sad thing is that the trend is towards homogeneity and cutting costs. Local pubs in the UK have been rolled up by a few large chain operators. Likewise in this story small family grocery stores and being replaced by chain supermarkets. It's not just a matter of being "behind the times", I think in the future we will regret having killed individuality in favor of convenience.
  - elric 1y ago
    > homogeneity and cutting costs Agreed that it's sad :-( In Belgium, most pubs (as in the physical buildings) are owned by one of three very large breweries. The rent is often steep, and there can be strict requirements on what drinks can be served. I suspect this is part of the driving force behind the decline of pubs.
Aromasin 1y ago
I often watch travel vloggers visit these places and you can't help but notice that all the vendors are also in their 70s or older, and they run them on their own. With no generational hand-over these places are doomed not matter how succesful or not they might be.
- cyxxon 1y ago
  Just some days ago I found some videos (not sure if on YT or Instagram) from a young women who took over a restaurant from her grandfather, and she was tattooed, had colorful hair, and was a great chef. She faced a lot of backlash in the rural area where this was located due to her looks, and I assume, this is also a problem where young people try once and then forget about it, or don't even try...
  - pezezin 1y ago
    Yeah, Japan is an extremely conservative country in many aspects, but it looks like young people are slowly pushing against some obsolete social rules. A year ago there were big news when big corporations like McDonalds ended their hair color rules, because otherwise they can't find enough employees. https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/49948 https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/49948

socalgal2 1y ago

I think you're right. Like the giant one in Musashi-Koyama is thriving at the start but dead at the end. The one in Musashi-Shinjou is really dead. So is the Kyoto Sanjo Shotengai. There's no "gentrification". There's just no customers. That said, I really wish some breakout architect would find a way to design a new building with space for more small shops that became a hit design. And then in my dream other architects would start copying. They built Shibuya Cast. There used to be 8-12 indie stores there. Now there's 3 chain stores. I think Sakara Stage might have done a better job there. I'm not sure but I think if I count the stores/restaurants it displaced there might be more now then before. Though I expect rent is way too high. Some places, like Toranomon Hills have the indoor restaurant yokochou type areas though I'm sure they are too expensive. Shibuya Sakura Stage also has one. Neither get that feeling like say, Akabane's bar area though. Or Nakano or Koenji. I hope Nakano is not going to lose theirs with all the construction. Shibuya though is going to lose a bunch more. A 30+ story building is under construction on Dogenzaka next to Mark City. Another is 30+ story is going on Miyamasa-Zaka between Meiji-Dori and Aoyama Dori where the post office is. There's a bunch super indie of restaurants there because the rent is cheap given the buildings are old. But maybe it will be designed like Sakura Stage to support more. I can cross my fingers. There's a 30+ story building going in where the Tokyu Honten was but given that was just a department store the new building will have more shops than the department store had, depending on how you count. There's yet another 30+ story building going in behind Hikarie. I'm not sure there's anything there it's displacing though. I mean, it is displacing stuff but nothing I've ever gone to, unlike some of the others.

rtpg 1y ago
Kyoto Sanjo got "killed" by COVID. Lived in the area for a bit, and when I visited in 2024 there were so many things just gone
- greydius 1y ago
  I was there a few days ago. Doesn't seem dead to me, but I don't know what it was like pre-covid.
timr 1y ago
I used to live near Kyoto Sanjo pre-2020, and was just there a month or so ago. I wouldn’t characterize it as “dead” at all - on the contrary, I was shocked how many new restaurants, stores and cafes were there now. Maybe the Showa vibes are dying, but my impression is that it really is gentrifying.

tkgally 1y ago

Other factors behind the decline of shotengai are the relaxing of restrictions on the size, location, and operating hours of larger retailers, partly as a result of international pressure [1, in Japanese]; fewer young people wanting to take over family businesses; more women with full-time jobs and less time to shop; and, as elsewhere, competition from online shopping. But individual-run retail businesses are still common in Japan. While it isn’t easy to make a living at it, many people still aspire to run their own shops or restaurants and distinctive new ones appear all the time. Just yesterday, I noticed a small, trendy-looking restaurant [2] that has opened a few blocks from where I live in Yokohama. It’s not the kind of food I particularly like and the location on a quiet residential street seems risky, but I was glad to see them there and hope they succeed. [1] https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E8%A6%8F%E6%A8%A1%E5%B0%8F%E5%A3%B2%E5%BA%97%E8%88%97%E7%AB%8B%E5%9C%B0%E6%B3%95 https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E8%A6%8F%E6%A8%A1%E5... [2] https://haseshige.jp/ https://haseshige.jp/

fennecbutt 1y ago

Yup like pubs in the UK. Times change, it's nice to keep a few examples of such things but why go out of our way to save them all; it's only preventing the next generation from having their thing. Which tbh given the current generation in power, makes sense.

gdbsjjdn 1y ago
The sad thing is that the trend is towards homogeneity and cutting costs. Local pubs in the UK have been rolled up by a few large chain operators. Likewise in this story small family grocery stores and being replaced by chain supermarkets. It's not just a matter of being "behind the times", I think in the future we will regret having killed individuality in favor of convenience.
- elric 1y ago
  > homogeneity and cutting costs Agreed that it's sad :-( In Belgium, most pubs (as in the physical buildings) are owned by one of three very large breweries. The rent is often steep, and there can be strict requirements on what drinks can be served. I suspect this is part of the driving force behind the decline of pubs.

Aromasin 1y ago

I often watch travel vloggers visit these places and you can't help but notice that all the vendors are also in their 70s or older, and they run them on their own. With no generational hand-over these places are doomed not matter how succesful or not they might be.

cyxxon 1y ago
Just some days ago I found some videos (not sure if on YT or Instagram) from a young women who took over a restaurant from her grandfather, and she was tattooed, had colorful hair, and was a great chef. She faced a lot of backlash in the rural area where this was located due to her looks, and I assume, this is also a problem where young people try once and then forget about it, or don't even try...
- pezezin 1y ago
  Yeah, Japan is an extremely conservative country in many aspects, but it looks like young people are slowly pushing against some obsolete social rules. A year ago there were big news when big corporations like McDonalds ended their hair color rules, because otherwise they can't find enough employees. https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/49948 https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/49948